Peter Cowen diary: Kevin Kisner’s nine birdies show anything is possible on last day

St Andrews: It has been a long two weeks for the old man in Scotland and I decided to drive home and miss the last day and-a-half of the 150th Open at St Andrews, Scotland.

So, I am calling in this Day Three Gulf News Daily Diary from my car on, perhaps a five-hour journey back home to Rotherham.

I have a cold, that I thought could be Covid, so I took all the necessary tests and was negative, which is some consolation.

Perhaps the long days on the range, first to arrive and last away have caught up with this 71 year-old?

In all honesty, I have been around most of my players for a lot of time over most of the last couple of weeks and they all know what they are doing and what they have to do.

At times I have to step back, otherwise they become too reliant on me, and in the end, they would be asking me to walk around with them and perhaps caddying for them and asking advice on every swing, both before and after.

That is not my role as a coach, in my opinion.

The players are responsible for everything after the first tee shot has been struck on the first until the last putt disappears on the home green. It is not my style to be around all the time, especially on the final day. It is only in the US or perhaps Dubai and the Middle East when I see them complete all four rounds.

I am not a great party animal, when you support Sheffield Wednesday Football Club you soon learn to rarely celebrate any achievements. You never know what is just around the corner.

I am impressed with the four amateurs making the cut. As the standard of professional golf improves, it just shows that the standard of the Amateur game is mirroring that improvement.

It is particularly nice to see that two of the four Amateurs making the cut are from Sheffield: Sam Bairstow, who is coached by Nick Huby, one of my top coaches, and Barclay Brown who often hits ball at our Rotherham Range but is not part of our Peter Cowen player stable.

I will listen to the golf coverage on the radio on the way home, but occasionally I turn it off, and am happy with my own company, with no distractions. That is perhaps how I have survived in and around this game for well over 50 years.

I will probably watch the final few holes on TV on Sunday afternoon and may the best player win.

The third round has hardly started as I post this column.

Seeing how Kevin Kisner made a move with nine birdies on his scorecard, on ‘Moving Day,’ a lot of players are still in the mix, it just shows us all what is possible.

Our Thomas Pieters looked like finishing better but had bogeys on three of the last four holes. Is he too far back?

It depends on how the leaders cope in their third rounds.

I would like to see Rory McIlroy, Victor Hovland to add to his Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic win earlier this year, Cameron Smith and Shane Lowry in the mix on Sunday afternoon.

My players are mostly too far off the leaders to win and will be fighting for maybe a Top-20 finish.

Whatever happens, it will all make for a great watch.

Speak to you all after we crown the Champion Golfer of the Year.

- Peter Cowen is a world-renowned golf coach with academies in the UAE and England.